Morocco Photography Workshop
We teach all levels of ability on a Morocco photography workshop including those that have absolutely no experience with DSLR cameras. Sometimes students decide to hire our DSLR rather than purchase one prior to the course. What are the advantages and disadvantages of arriving with your own camera as an absolute beginner.
Introduction to photography and your camera’s settings
The above post offers a good introduction to the essential features of photography but how do you know which camera to buy when you’ve not covered the basics. Often reading manuals or guides without reviewing each stage of understanding and task setting doesn’t take a learner very far. Most people need to learn with practical examples, something we of course cover during the week.
Overview of DSLR cameras to choose from
The advantage of choosing a camera after a short course is that you can now assess each camera’s functionality; where the dials are, how the the camera fits into your hand, weight as well lens choice. You may even not want a DSLR at all and realise the advantages of an advanced compact or hybrid. On the down side, arriving without having handled a DSLR before requires a steep learning curve but in all cases after the first few days success is achieved.
The advantages of using shutter priority mode for beginners
In this post the author talks about choosing the best shutter speed to avoid camera shake. A quick web search for the terms ‘shutter priority for beginners’ brings up all kinds of references to recommended shooting in aperture and not shutter. Many professionals and teachers of photography get carried away with their own love for controlling the aperture forgetting that this requires a decent degree of camera knowledge. Beginners are in the domain of still learning to see their data in the viewfinder and eradicating camera shake. Only after this is secure, should they move the aperture priority mode.
Changing the picture quality using the in-camera picture style settings
When shooting in JPEG or RAW and JPEG one shortcut to getting your images to look more photographic is to use the picture style presets in your menu set-up. You can access them via the Q-menu and customise them via your main menu. The factory defaults tend to be cool on colours, contrast, saturation and sharpness so bumping these settings up a little for subjects such as landscapes and subjects with a strong textural content will see improvements. Be careful when shooting people as skins tones can look unnatural if the settings are increased too much. The presets only affect the JPEG not the RAW files.
Buying a camera body and separate first lens
When buying a camera often sellers will sell a package to include the body and lens. The lens supplied is usually not the best option with regards to picture quality of range of focal length available. Afterwards it’s often surplus to requirements. The choices available for the novice can be daunting but the above post takes the reader through each of the options. It also features my own personal recommendation; for the Tamron 18-270, a superb lens to cover most situations and an ideal first lens for the beginner or an additional piece of glass for the aspiring enthusiast who may be shooting a variety of reportage situations in good light.
If you’ve any thoughts on the above posts get in touch and leave a comment or if you’ve come across any other relevant posts for beginners then let us know. We’ll be returning with some tips for intermediates soon. You can see examples of photos taken on our photo holidays and tours at our portfolio page.
You can book a Morocco photography workshop here.